


wear and tear

by solarsidong



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27524431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarsidong/pseuds/solarsidong
Summary: sometimes jaemin can't stand his job. at least renjun is here to help.(a soft backstage drabble)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 76





	wear and tear

it shouldn't be this hard, jaemin thinks.

it's been long enough now that he shouldn't be struggling. he's four years in, had more cameras in his face, brushes and sponges on his cheeks, and bleach in his hair than he could ever quantify. the only number ringing in his head right now is 3. he's had 3 hours of sleep in the last two days, 3 weeks of back to back promotions with a team he still doesn't feel entirely comfortable with, and 3 months since he's been able to have a day just to himself.

he should be grateful for the work though.

he can think of being in much worse positions, places he's been in before where he was confined to a bed and unable to overwork himself even if he desperately wanted to. those days of watching his colleagues on TV while doing frustratingly basic rehabilitation exercises are behind him. he's older now, a little less reckless and lot more world weary. a lot more tired too.

"there's no break in between music bank and the filming for the next track video, okay?" his manager mutters to him, half absorbed in a spreadsheet on the laptop he's got propped open.

"okay," jaemin replies, only half caring. maybe he'll get a nap snuck in the van.

"and you've got a voice vlive planned right after that as well - couldn't get you out of that one sorry," his manager sounds thinly apologetic. it's more than he used to get from the previous one.

"okay," jaemin repeats. he can see chenle playing among us on his phone at the other end of the couch, lips pouting as he furiously types into the chat. must be the imposter, he idly thinks.

he barely notices his manager getting up and walking over to renjun, but he does notice renjun startle from his stupor and look, doe eyed and a little confused, as the manager says something quickly. it doesn't take long to figure out that renjun has been assigned 'make jaemin look less exhausted' duty.

"perk up, jaem," renjun says, dropping heavily into the couch next to him. "or sogeun hyung will actually castrate me. they're wanting to get behind the scenes content soon."

jaemin nods, pulling renjun's head onto his shoulder. "if you sleep here then it'll be cute content of us napping together, that counts."

renjun huffs, ever the professional. "fine. but only cause i want to know what's up with you," he says.

jaemin knew he wasn't going to escape this line of questioning. it'd been on the tip of taeyong's tongue as well when he'd seen jaemin's disaster hair earlier in the morning. it wasn't like him to be this way.

jaemin was supposed to be the one that was always ready to jump into work mode, the pleaser and crooner and conjurer of impossibly sugar-coated aegyo. instead he was being a kind of dead weight to his team. he had a couple of lines in this title track, he rapped them in the weird tone he'd been asked to do by the producers on stage like a parrot every day, and then he'd disappear to his bedroom to recuperate. maybe he'd post on insta and bubble to remind his fans that he still existed and was still okay. (he wasn't really).

"i don't know jun," he eventually replies, "i'm just not having a fun time right now."

"psych?" renjun queries, voice dropping into a whisper but straightforward as ever.

"she's okay but i don't think it's that. my meds are doing their job. i just..." he stops. dangerous territory.

renjun nudges. "just what?"

jaemin sighs. "just want a break. i know it's stupid to ask for one but honestly it's all that's been on my mind. it's not even reasonable because we have part 2 coming out but--"

"but nothing, jaem," renjun cuts him off. "it's fair. it's okay and normal and absolutely reasonable to say fuck it to all of this," he gestures to the waiting room, bustling with stylists, stuffed to the brim with makeup and costumes. "i haven't even got as long a promo time as you and i'm already kind of over it."

jaemin smiles. renjun never even lets it show. "our hearts aren't in this one," jaemin says.

renjun snorts. "what? singing about birthday sex to a crowd of middle aged producers and cameraman isn't your idea of a good time?"

jaemin huffs, shifting his weight so that renjun can rest a little easier. "at least you get a meaningful song. i literally don't even know what my line means anymore. the dance is fun though."

"soon," renjun says, "we will be free enough to get a couple of hours off. and then we will feast."

jaemin perks up at this. "waffles?"

renjun pulls out his phone and starts typing into the search bar. "we're going to find you the fanciest waffles, jaem. it's going to be disgustingly sweet, extremely calorific, and very very worth it."

"have i ever told you i love you?" jaemin asks, reaching for renjun's free hand and intertwining their fingers, his bigger hands clasped over renjun's smaller digits.

"mhmm. a few times. all coincidentally as i'm buying you something." he can hear the smile in renjun's voice as he says it. it makes everything a little more bearable.

**Author's Note:**

> tweet to me @solarsidong (how the hell do you hyperlink in the notes??)


End file.
